Web Theologian

>112:1 Praise the Lord!Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news;his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady; he will not be afraid,until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;his righteousness endures forever;his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;he gnashes his teeth and melts away;the desire of the wicked will perish!

Here is that theme of fear again. I have heard it preached that this is not fear as we know it, shaking in your boots fear, they are wrong it is that kind of fear but not only that kind of fear. It is the kind of fear that you don’t want to disappoint your parents, or when you are little you know how much power and authority they have over your life and you don’t want to live in any other way then under their good grace. We are so rights center, what I am entitled to, it would do all of us some good to live with more fear these days, especially toward God.

There is blessing promised to those who fear the Lord. Pretty nice. And it effects how we treat one another. Blessed is the one who lends generously and deals with others in a just way. Fear God shapes your heart it molds you into his image so that you are able to treat people, all people, not just people you like in the way that they were created to be treated.

All of this stands in sharp contrast to the wicked and greedy.

>111:1 Praise the Lord!I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the works of the Lord,studied by all who delight in them.
3 Full of splendor and majesty is his work,and his righteousness endures forever.
4 He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;he remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;all his precepts are trustworthy;
8 they are established forever and ever,to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent redemption to his people;he has commanded his covenant forever.Holy and awesome is his name!
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;all those who practice it have a good understanding.His praise endures forever!

Thankfulness is the mark of a changed life. Sourness and thankfulness cannot exist. Last Friday when my office was serving lunch to the homeless of Seattle and I got stuck doing dishes I needed a thankful hear. Whenever anyone set a plate down for me to wash I thanked them. That kept me from being sour about my position and lead me to truly enjoy the position I was end.

God’s grace and mercy can make you thankful anytime if you understand it. He has given you everything. There are promises that he has made and he is out to fulfill them. If you don’t know them, ask someone, or look for them, either way you can find it.

Don’t treat God like a joke or like an animal in the zoo there for you to observe, rather he is to be feared. That seems very odd to us these days, frankly there is not much that we are afraid of because we have the day in and day out figured out pretty well. Once you start examining the question of God, goodness, and how this world could be created by a good God you enter into some very difficult areas. Taken too lightly don’t be surprised if you get burned, walk in fear with a heart ready to learn then you are on the right road.

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The power of God is unmatched. He rests his feet upon our enemies. Those who cause us trouble day in and day out. Outside of national enemies, and I think I have said this before, it is really hard for me to identify my enemies. I guess that is a good thing.

Melchizedek is this cool guy from the OT who provided Abraham an honor, and Abraham paid an offering to him. He sort of rolls in after Abraham had won a few battles and is never heard of again. In Hebrews Jesus is compared to him. All you can really say is that there is something very special about him.

Things are going to be so good with God in charge, we can stop to smell the flowers, and take a drink in the brook.

>26 Help me, O Lord my God!Save me according to your steadfast love!
27 Let them know that this is your hand;you, O Lord, have done it!
28 Let them curse, but you will bless!They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
29 May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
30 With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31 For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

I like to see the reasoning even in the poetry of the Psalms. We do not cry out to God on our own righteousness but rather because of His character, his promises, or for his reputation. Let everyone know what kind of God you are. Thehy might not get it, but those who love you do.

Let those who oppose me and therfore God look foolish.

>16 For he did not remember to show kindness,but pursued the poor and needyand the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
17 He loved to curse; let curses come upon him!He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!
18 He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;may it soak into his body like water,like oil into his bones!
19 May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,like a belt that he puts on every day!20 May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord,of those who speak evil against my life!
21 But you, O God my Lord,deal on my behalf for your name’s sake;because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
22 For I am poor and needy,and my heart is stricken within me.
23 I am gone like a shadow at evening;I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak through fasting;my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
25 I am an object of scorn to my accusers;when they see me, they wag their heads.

I don’t care who you are, you had better remember to be kind to the poor or it will come back ot get you. God cares about them, no it is true they are not all saints, there are lots of assholes who are poor, but it doesn’t matter. You need to care or it will be used against you. Also don’t forget to appreciate good things, sometimes it is easy to get into a mood and delight in the suffer and misfortune of others, let it go. Stop watching the news and go find something positive. Truse me you do not want to be in the category of the person in this Psalm

God looks out for his people. It’s amazing to me that David can identify with the poor and needy. He was the king, yet he understood his need, his brokenness. Most leaders appear to have it all together and act like mistakes are the exception. Rather I find mistakes are the norm and often the things that bring us together as people. Sadly it takes hurricanes and earthquakes to bring all people, all faiths, all backgrounds, all economic levels together with a common purpose. Oakland that came with the the territory. It was such a rough city that people who lived there had a bond, almost like you were surviving it together. Seattle doesn’t have that vibe, except maybe after the 90th straight day of rain, then we realize we are all nuts to be here.

>6 Appoint a wicked man against him;
let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
let his prayer be counted as sin!
8 May his days be few;
may another take his office!
9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow!
10 May his children wander about and beg,
seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
11 May the creditor seize all that he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12 Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13 May his posterity be cut off;
may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14 May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
15 Let them be before the Lord continually,
that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!

Details have never been my strength, I guess that would be obvious by my reverting back to Psalm 105 for the last few entries for some reason. We are back on track now:)

This Psalm is calling upon God to act against those who have caused trouble for the writer. This is no joke. Let him be tried as evil, may his children be fatherless, and hungry. Let collections have their way with him. I get that the Psalmist does not want anyone to have to deal with this person and time, for generations. Just wipe him out and the place would be much better.

I guess from a New Testament perspective you can pray this, but I think you have to repent afterward. It is very hard in our ‘modern’ society to really identify on a daily basis those who are evil in our life. That is one of the reasons I was disappointed when President Bush said that he had not prayed for Saddam Hussein before the invasion. Bush claims the name of Christ and Christ taught us to pray for our enemies. That was a clear person to pray for in obedience. Just another reason our leaders need our prayers

>16 When he summoned a famine on the land
and broke all supply of bread,
17 he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 His feet were hurt with fetters;
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19 until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the Lord tested him.
20 The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free;
21 he made him lord of his house
and ruler of all his possessions,
22 to bind his princes at his pleasure
and to teach his elders wisdom.

Silence, justice, and now famine. Boy I sometimes wonder why people think of God differently from the Old Testament. God is not predictable. He does his thing. Often times it is surprising and very different from the road we would take. One of the problems we have when it comes to the Bible is we have heard the stories so many time they seem the norm, but they are not and should shock us more.

God uses famine to send his people into Egypt where through a tiny shepherd boy he has laid a foundation for them to not only survive but to flourish. Israel will become huge in number and take on of the most dramatic road trips, the Exodus, ever recorded.

God uses all things for our good and His glory. Don’t forget it. When you go through you day today and things don’t fall out like you planned. Remember he is in control, go in prayer, and pray for some insight into Him and what he is doing in this world.

>7 He is the Lord our God;his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant forever,the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant that he made with Abraham,his sworn promise to Isaac,
10 which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaanas your portion for an inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,of little account, and sojourners in it,
13 wandering from nation to nation,from one kingdom to another people,
14 he allowed no one to oppress them;he rebuked kings on their account,
15 saying, “Touch not my anointed ones,do my prophets no harm!”

Silence and now judgment. Very hard things to deal with when it comes to God, both are covered in the Psalm. If we were God we would never be judgmental or silent right, probably not the case. The good news of his judgments are they are based upon promises made in the past, those are remember and foundational so that the judgments are right.

God has a habit of taking very humble, small means and making them great. Often times when I read articles about 6 year olds who start companies
http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/09/19/playspan-takes-65m-series-a-founder-in-grade-6/ I feel like, WTF, what have I done with my life. Then I remember that God does use the humble, keep working, being faithful and dreaming and good things will happen. Honestly they already have, I have a great wife, daughter and a second child on the way. He does take care of us in line with his promises.

>109:1 Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 They encircle me with words of hate,
and attack me without cause.
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I give myself to prayer.
5 So they reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.

The silence of God is one of the scariest things in this life. Silence in general can be a very good thing. It can refresh you. When we lived in Oakland we lived on a street that was a cut through for the hospital, the police department and there was a fire station a block away. It was very loud. Returning to Seattle, our neighborhood, Ballard is very quiet. At first the silence was unsettling but then I got used to it and it allows me to sleep better.

The silence of God can do something else to us other than just scare us. That is focus us. God uses unanswered prayer and silence to get my attention and to lead me into paying more attention to what is happening around me. It is never something that I want to experience, yet it can be turned into a good thing in our relationship with God.

This struggle and silence from God leads the Psalmist into something else that is positive. More prayer. Nothing is more frustrating than doing something good for someone and having them spit in your faith. So this prayer can encourage us to pray especially when we are dealing with wicked people.

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